


One Last Game

by evilwriter37



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Episode: s08e08 Triple Cross, M/M, Unrequited Love, Viggo Grimborn Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:49:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28788237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilwriter37/pseuds/evilwriter37
Summary: Hiccup rescues Viggo after their fateful mission to get the Dragon Eye and lenses back. Now, the two of them know what no one else knows: Viggo loves him.
Relationships: Viggo Grimborn & Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Viggo Grimborn/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Comments: 15
Kudos: 65





	One Last Game

A man shouldn’t have survived this. Not four arrows through the back, not an explosion of lightning and fire… but he had. Hiccup had dragged him out of there, and he was still breathing. Viggo Grimborn was somehow still alive. 

He was unconscious though, arrows still in him, breathing, but barely. The Skrill must have covered him from most of the explosion, because he hardly had any burns on him. His clothing and armor were very much still intact. He must have been shot at close range if the arrows had pierced his armor. Now, he was slung over Toothless’ back, and Hiccup was flying as fast as he could to the island that he and Viggo had used as a meeting site the night before. He needed treatment, and fast. Hiccup had none of the Dragon Riders with him. He wished he at least had Fishlegs. He was the official healer of Dragon’s Edge, what with his gentleness and vast knowledge of plants. He’d passed some of that knowledge on to Hiccup though. Hopefully what little he knew would be useful. 

Toothless landed as gently as he could, so as not to jar the injured man on his back. He’d had no qualms about flying him out of there, now that he knew of Viggo’s change of heart. They both knew, and Hiccup felt so conflicted in his feelings. 

Viggo loved him. 

That was the truth. Hiccup knew it now, and Viggo knew it. It wasn’t some infatuation, or physical obsession like it had been at first: it was love, plain and simple. Except it wasn’t either of those two things. 

Hiccup hauled Viggo off of Toothless’ back. He could think about how he felt later. Now, he had to save him. 

“Toothless, give me a low flame,” Hiccup said. His dragon did so without question. The sun had yet to rise, and Hiccup had to be able to see Viggo’s wounds. 

Hiccup didn’t know what to do first. The instant he pulled the arrows out, he’d open the wounds up to more bleeding and infection, but they  _ had  _ to come out. He’d take out the arrows, then Viggo’s armor, and not think about the fact that he’d be seeing this man half nude. 

Hiccup was glad Viggo was unconscious as he pulled out the first arrow. It was covered in blood down to the wooden haft of it. Oh gods, it had gone deep, had probably hit vital organs. But Hiccup could do nothing about that but get the arrows out as fast as possible and stop the bleeding. 

Two. Three. Four. There. They were all out, laying on the ground beside Hiccup. Now was the harder part of removing Viggo’s clothing and armor. Hiccup found clasps to his breastplate on the side, began to undo them, grunted with effort as he pulled the thing off, (Viggo was not a light man, especially unconscious like this.) Not bothering with taking off the rest of his clothes the right way, Hiccup drew his dagger and cut through them. Now Viggo’s back was bare to him, and he could see each gaping wound in him. It made him feel sick, and he had to swallow down bile. He’d never dealt with injuries like this before. 

But he knew what he had to do. Hopefully Viggo would remain unconscious. Hiccup held his dagger in front of Toothless’ flame until the blade burned orange. Then, taking a deep breath to prepare himself, he pressed it to the top most wound in Viggo’s back. There was a hissing sound as heated metal met flesh, and Viggo let out a quiet groaning noise, but didn’t otherwise stir. 

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” Hiccup got out quickly. He really was. He didn’t want to hurt him, but this was the best way to stop the bleeding. After a few minutes, it was done, and Hiccup heaved a sigh of relief. Now, to tend to the burns. Hiccup had some chamomile salve on him for accidents with dragon fire. He took the jar from his saddle bag, uncorked it, began spreading it as carefully as possible over the burns he’d just made. Rolling Viggo over showed some burns on his chest, and he applied it there as well. 

And, aside from bandaging him, that was all Hiccup could do for the time being. Viggo needed time and care, care that Hiccup didn’t know how to give him. Because, well, he had his friends he had to go back to. But he couldn’t just leave him here, hurt and defenseless like this.

Making up his mind, Hiccup dragged Viggo onto Toothless’ back with the dragon’s help, and took off in search of shelter. He could send a Terror Mail to his friends later. For now, he had to help Viggo. 

  
  


Viggo woke slowly, torn from sleep by pain in his back. He groaned quietly, wondering what had happened. The last thing he remembered was the brightness and heat of an explosion…

_ I should be dead _ . Maybe he was dead, and he was in Hel or Niflheim, where he surely belonged. Niflheim was for those who had done horrible, unforgivable things in life, and he’d certainly racked up a list of those. Yes, he’d died in battle, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be sent to Niflheim instead of Valhalla. He didn’t deserve Valhalla. He didn’t-

“Viggo? Are you awake?” came a quiet voice from nearby.

“Hm?” Viggo was startled from his reverie. A voice. He recognized it too. “I’m… not dead?” he asked.

A little laugh. “No. Came close, but no.”

Viggo opened his eyes to see Hiccup sitting near him. They were in a cave with a fire crackling nearby. Daylight streamed in from the opening, light that Viggo thought he would never see again. Toothless was sleeping, Hiccup, leaning against him as he sat. Viggo realized he was laying on a bed roll with a pillow and a blanket. There were no arrows in him. Hiccup had done what he could to make him comfortable, it would seem. 

“Where are we?”

“The island you set as a meeting place,” Hiccup responded. He wasn’t looking at him, instead at the dancing flames. “You’ve been out for three days.”

“Three days?” Viggo’s throat was dry as he said it, and he was beginning to feel it. He was thirsty and hungry, despite the awful pain he was in. He wanted to wipe a hand over his face, but moving felt too difficult and painful. 

Hiccup nodded. “Are you hungry?”

“A bit peckish, I admit.”

Hiccup stood, went over to the fire where a pot was held on a stand. He took a bowl, began scooping the contents of the pot into it. He took a spoon, and returned with the bowl to Viggo.

“Can you sit?”

“I don’t… think so.” Viggo didn’t like admitting to such weakness, but pushing his body too much was not going to help in the healing process. He was still reeling from the fact that he’d woken up at all, that he was  _ alive _ . And Hiccup was helping him, even after everything he’d done to him, after the ways he’d hurt him and played with him and manipulated him. Why? Viggo had had a change of heart, but he’d hardly expected forgiveness and compassion from this man. Then again, that was part of Hiccup, wasn’t it? 

Hiccup knelt with the bowl, took a spoonful, and put it near Viggo’s mouth. He was going to be fed like he was nothing more than a weak child. That made a lump form in his throat, but he swallowed it down, and took the spoonful of stew that Hiccup offered him.

They didn’t talk while Viggo ate, which Viggo was okay with. The feeding was a slow process, but he felt a little better once it was done. He closed his eyes again, wanting to drift off, but then thought of his predicament, thought of Hiccup.

“Why?” he asked as Hiccup began eating his own bowl of stew. 

“Why what?” Hiccup didn’t look at him. He probably already knew what he was asking, but just wanted clarification.

“Why did you save me? Why didn’t you leave me for dead?”

“I couldn’t,” Hiccup answered. He shook his head. “I just couldn’t do that. You made sure I got out safely, so I did the same for you.”

“But after our history…”

“Yeah,” Hiccup said. “I’m conflicted, I admit. But… you had a change of heart. You see the good in dragons, in… in me.”

There were unspoken words between them that sat heavy in the air. Viggo loved Hiccup. He’d finally admitted it to himself, and now, Hiccup knew that too. But how were they to discuss it? Hiccup was with Astrid, certainly. He’d seen the way he looked at her, the lengths he went to protect her. His love was for her, not him. And why should it be for him? Viggo had never expected it to be reciprocated, but it still brought an ache inside of him to know that it wasn’t, to know that it never would be. 

“Yes,” Viggo said. “Yes, I do.” 

He waited, wondering if Hiccup would say more, but the young man just focused on eating. Seeing as that was the end of the conversation, Viggo closed his eyes. He was in a lot of pain, but that pain was also draining him, and he was able to go to sleep. 

  
  


Hiccup read over the Terror Mail he’d gotten back from his friends. It was asking where he was, if he was okay, what had happened at the meeting with his father. Right, yes: they thought that he’d met with his father. They didn’t know he’d actually met with Viggo and gone on some crazy, fruitless quest to get the Dragon Eye and lenses back. Hiccup didn’t know what to do but lie. He couldn’t tell them he was with Viggo, that he was taking care of him. So, he wrote a message back and sent it off with Sharpshot, saying that he was on Berk for a while, that his father was okay but he needed help with some things on the island. Gods, he hoped no one would talk to Stoick or go and check. It was a long flight from the Edge to Berk. Maybe they wouldn’t want to make it. 

Hiccup felt guilty as he did this, but all in all, it was for the greater good. He couldn’t leave Viggo here defenseless and practically helpless. The man couldn’t even sit up or stay awake for very long, it would seem. That was to be expected with the injuries he’d sustained. 

Hiccup wasn’t in want of supplies. The island was full of wildlife and the waters rife with fish. He could hunt and fish for food, and herbs were abundant as well. He wished he could give Viggo something for pain, but couldn’t exactly remember which plant Fishlegs used for that other than willow bark, which he’d been unable to find. He felt bad that Viggo had to go through this pain unmedicated, but, it was the best he could do. The most Hiccup could do now was take care of his needs and make sure his wounds didn’t become infected. He’d closed them rather quickly, so he hoped they wouldn’t be. Gothi would certainly call it shoddy workmanship though. 

Hiccup thought of the words that were unspoken between him and Viggo. They had hung in the air in their conversation, like Viggo had wanted to say something, or Hiccup himself had wanted to say something. It was difficult to acknowledge the truth, even though it had already been brought to light. 

Viggo loved Hiccup. 

But Hiccup loved Astrid, was going to be married to her. He  _ wanted  _ that. He couldn’t reciprocate Viggo’s love. And yet he felt something for him, something that wasn’t all hatred. Because yes, he hated him for everything that he’d done, but there was respect there as well. A growing respect. Viggo’s mind had been changed by a dragon, and by Hiccup himself. Viggo had admitted to that, in what he thought were his last moments with him. And then he’d taken his hand, looked him so endearingly in the eye.

_ “Hiccup, you’re more ruthless than you realize.”  _

Was he? Was he really ruthless? He hadn’t left a former enemy to die, not because he needed him, but because he couldn’t stand the thought of him dying because of their plan, because of him. He looked over at Viggo’s sleeping form, at the scar on his face. He’d thought him dead before, thought that he’d perished in the Edge volcano, but he hadn’t. He’d miraculously survived that, and he’d survived this as well. Viggo was tough, to say the least. 

Hiccup sighed, and Toothless, now awake, rumbled at him. He looked to Viggo, gave him a sniff, then gave a worried look back at Hiccup. So, Toothless was accepting Viggo now as well. 

“I know, Toothless.” Hiccup pet him on the head. “I wish there was more I could do.” 

  
  


Viggo slept for a long time. When he awoke, Hiccup gave him more food. He wanted to check his wounds and his bandages, but that would require him sitting up. Still, Hiccup had to change the bandages and clean the wounds to prevent infection. He very much didn’t want to do this, as disinfecting the wounds would hurt Viggo, but he had to. 

Hiccup helped Viggo sit up, then undid his bandages and let him lay back down. Viggo just took it all with a grunt, didn’t say anything. His jaw was clenched in obvious pain. 

“I’m sorry about this,” Hiccup said, taking the cork off the bottle of alcohol. He was glad he’d brought it with him, but now it wasn’t for drinking. 

“Just do it,” Viggo said through gritted teeth. 

So, Hiccup did. He poured the alcohol over each of Viggo’s wounds, and Viggo tensed up, let out a harsh yell. Hiccup winced, but took a cloth and put it to the wounds anyway. Viggo moaned. He seemed to be trying to hold in sounds of pain, but was unsuccessful. Hiccup could understand that. He didn’t want to show supposed weakness in front of him. 

Once the wounds were clean and Hiccup had rubbed more chamomile on them, he helped Viggo sit up and wrapped new bandages around his torso. It was a little awkward touching him like this, having skin-to-skin contact. It was an intimacy that Hiccup had never expected to have with the man. 

He helped Viggo to lay back down on his stomach, and Viggo breathed a sigh of relief once he was in that position. Hiccup couldn’t blame him. He had his eyes closed, and Hiccup thought he was sleeping, but then he spoke.

“Talk to me,” he said.

“About what?”

“Anything,” Viggo answered. “About dragons, your inventions, anything. I need the distraction.”

Hiccup figured that was true. The wounds would be hurting more, now that he’d disinfected them. He could almost sense the throbbing pain in the air. 

So, Hiccup began to speak. He was awkward about it at first, but after a while, fell into a relaxing rhythm. He spoke of his inventions, spoke of dragons, spoke of his friends. Viggo didn’t respond, just let Hiccup speak, and eventually, Hiccup could hear his breathing even out and become deep with sleep. He looked to Viggo, and yes, he was asleep. Hiccup quieted, just stared at him. His features looked so much softer in the firelight, softer than the sharp smirks he used to give him, the hard glares and looks. Now, there was nothing but tenderness on his face. 

_ He loves me, _ Hiccup thought.  _ By the gods, he loves me!  _ It was such a strange thought to have. One of the worst enemies he’d ever met, and he loved him. Curious, Hiccup gently touched his face, the unmarred side of it. He would never touch his scars without permission first. His skin was smooth.

Shocked by his own actions, Hiccup pulled his hand away. What had  _ that  _ been? Why had he touched Viggo’s face? Toothless was giving him an odd look, and Hiccup just shrugged in response, unsure of how to answer. How  _ could  _ he answer when he himself didn’t understand? His emotions were a roiling tide, clouds clashing to form a storm. His hatred for Viggo was part of that storm, but the other part that was fighting against it was… affection… perhaps. He wasn’t so sure. He’d felt this before though, had felt different around Viggo than any other person. He made him feel respected, comfortable, even. Hiccup had long ago realized that he and Viggo would have been friends had it not been for the conflict between them. 

“This is so confusing, Toothless,” Hiccup said. “So damn confusing.”

  
  


“What are you reading?” Viggo asked Hiccup from his place on the bedroll. He’d awoken to find Hiccup with a small scroll. 

“Terror Mail from my friends.” Hiccup lowered the scroll, sighed. “I don’t want them to know what I’m doing, but I can’t just keep lying to them forever.” He looked over at Viggo. “And you can’t be moved just yet.”

“So you’re thinking of taking me back to Dragon’s Edge?”

“I am.”

Viggo laughed lightly. “Hiccup, if you did that, someone would certainly slit my throat or smother me in my sleep.” He was amused by the idea at the same time he didn’t like it.

“Not if I can help it,” Hiccup said. “It seems like the best option. I ran out of chamomile salve and I’m going to run out of bandages soon. We can’t stay here forever.”

“We…” Viggo mused. “You don’t intend on leaving me.”

It wasn’t a question, but Hiccup shook his head. “I don’t. How could I? You were going to sacrifice yourself for me. I… That’s… that’s big.” He didn’t seem to know what else to say. Again, there was tension between them, unspoken words.

_ He must know by now _ , Viggo thought.  _ He must know I love him.  _ It was a strange thing for him to think. Love. Him. Him loving someone. It seemed impossible, improbable. Viggo had never felt anything for anyone in his years of life save for disdain. He hadn’t  _ loved  _ anybody. But Hiccup was different, so, so different. 

“Hiccup-”

“I’m going fishing,” Hiccup interrupted. He apparently didn’t want to hear what Viggo had to say. He wasn’t ready yet. He stood. “Toothless, you keep an eye on him.”

Toothless rumbled in what sounded like a positive response. Hiccup took up his sword and his shield, and left the cave, and Viggo was alone with his dragon. Before, that would have caused all sorts of nerves. It still did, in a way, but not nearly as many as it used to. Toothless wouldn’t harm him.

Toothless stood, now taking the time to sniff Viggo over. Viggo let it happen, sure that he wasn’t going to hurt him. 

Once done with that, Toothless sat by his side, gazing at him. There was intelligence in those emerald eyes. 

“How do you think your friends will react to me?” Viggo asked him, though Toothless couldn’t talk. Well, not in his language, at least. Now  _ that  _ made him nervous - going to Dragon’s Edge. But Hiccup was right: they couldn’t stay on this island forever. Hiccup was certainly lying to his friends, and the lies would eventually fall apart. His friends deserved the truth. 

And yet, Viggo wondered which one of them would kill him. It would be an easy thing to do, in his current state. Certainly not Fishlegs. He was too gentle and caring for that. Astrid had a temper. She could do it without hesitation. The twins? Maybe. Not Tuffnut, but Ruffnut, perhaps. Snotlout could do it as well, he figured. They all had various reasons to hate him, and he didn’t think they’d be able to see Hiccup’s side of things. They hadn’t been through what Hiccup had with him. They didn’t  _ know _ . 

But what if they did know? Gods, that made Viggo nervous too. He didn’t  _ want  _ anyone but Hiccup knowing how he felt. He wished he could have followed through with his plan: help Hiccup get the Dragon Eye and lenses, and then disappear, never become part of his life again. But he would have died had it not been for Hiccup’s help. He remembered the pain of each of those arrows hitting him, remembered what he had thought were going to be his last words. He had been dying, and Hiccup had saved him. Now Viggo remembered telling Hiccup that he was too pure for his own good, and it was true, really. He’d stepped in and saved him instead of leaving him for dead, and leaving him for dead certainly would have been the easier option, wouldn’t it? Now, Hiccup had had to take care of him  _ and  _ lie to his friends. It was a burden he didn’t need.

But Viggo couldn’t just tell Hiccup to leave him. He wanted to, wanted to be left all alone, wanted to not have to face his feelings. He’d never loved before, and such a thing was terrifying to him. It left him feeling so vulnerable, like someone had sliced him open and was looking at his insides. And that person was Hiccup. 

With a sigh, his thoughts tiring him, Viggo closed his eyes and tried to sleep. 

  
  


“Okay, you’ve got this,” Hiccup was telling Viggo as he and Toothless supported most of his weight. “One foot over…”

Toothless was lying down for this, the most he could really help with Viggo mounting him. With a pained cry, Viggo got a leg over Toothless’ back. The sound made Hiccup wince. He couldn’t imagine how much it hurt to move. 

He did his best to make sure that Viggo wouldn’t topple over as he mounted Toothless, but the man was heavy. It was better than handling his dead weight though, like he had two weeks ago. They’d run out of their supply of bandages and needed to head to Dragon’s Edge. Hiccup had written to his friends, letting them know he’d be returning with a surprise. He hadn’t given them any other details though. He just didn’t know how. Best to reveal that he’d been lying to them in person, he supposed. He knew he would be yelled at, but he didn’t know what else to do. He couldn’t take Viggo to Berk. They’d certainly hold him captive, find him guilty of war crimes, and kill him, if he even lived long enough to make it to a trial. So the only other option was Dragon’s Edge. 

Once Viggo was mounted, Hiccup got on in front of him. “Just hold onto me,” he told him. “And lean on me if you have to.” 

Viggo just mutely nodded, probably tired out and hurting from mounting Toothless. Hiccup tensed for a moment as he felt Viggo’s big arms slip around him, but then he relaxed. This man wasn’t going to hurt him. 

“Okay, Toothless, let’s go.”

Toothless rumbled, then stood, and left the cave. They were leaving Viggo’s armor behind. The arrows had left it beyond repair, and it would have been too painful to put back on anyway; Viggo was just in his ripped black tunic.

Viggo made a sound of pain as they went into the air, tightly squeezed Hiccup’s middle. For a moment, Hiccup couldn’t breathe from his grip, but then they leveled out, and Viggo let up on how tight the hold was. For a little while, he seemed like he was trying to sit up on his own, straight-backed as usual, but then he was sagging against Hiccup. 

“I apologize for any inconvenience this is causing you,” Viggo said. His words were near his ear, his voice warm and rich despite the pain in it. 

“Hey,  _ I’m _ the one who rescued you,” Hiccup said. “Any inconvenience is my fault.” He could practically hear his friends yelling at him already. It would take a lot of explaining, that was for sure. 

Along the flight, Viggo asked Hiccup to talk about his interests again. Hiccup liked that. He felt like Viggo was actually listening to him, though he couldn’t see his face to check. Someone was interested in the things he had to say, no matter how trivial they seemed. And Viggo was smart, would probably understand most of what he was talking about. Hiccup loved Astrid, but she didn’t quite understand his inventions, or always get the way his mind worked. Viggo, on the other hand, seemed to know it inside and out.

_ The talking probably distracts him from his pain _ , Hiccup realized. He couldn’t wait to give this man something to help with that. Despite everything they’d gone through, Hiccup didn’t like seeing him in pain. And, they’d gotten much friendlier with each other over the past two weeks. Viggo hadn’t been conscious for most of it, but they’d still talked. They’d skirted around Viggo’s feelings for Hiccup, and how Hiccup felt about all that and him in general, but yes, they’d grown closer. It was something almost like friendship. 

Viggo was practically unconscious by the time they made it to Dragon’s Edge. Hiccup knew his friends would be waiting for him in the clubhouse, knew they would have seen his arrival, but he had to put Viggo to bed first. The sun was splaying orange across the sky as it dipped into the sea.

Getting Viggo off of Toothless was harder than getting him on. Hiccup had to pat his face a few times to bring him back around.

“Hey, look at me. We’re here. You’ll be alright.”

“Ughn?” Viggo’s eyes darted around, a look of confusion on his face. He must have fallen asleep at some point during the flight.

“Dragon’s Edge, remember?”

The confusion left Viggo’s eyes, and he nodded. He nearly fell getting off of Toothless, but Hiccup managed to keep him on his feet. With one of Viggo’s arms slung over his shoulder, Hiccup got him into his hut. The stairs were a feat, but eventually they were in the loft, and Viggo was collapsing on his front into Hiccup’s bed. Hiccup didn’t mind him being in his bed. He certainly wasn’t going to make him sleep on the floor. A bed would be good for him after two weeks of being in a cave.

“I’m gonna go talk to my friends,” Hiccup said gently. “I’ll be back. Just rest.”

The door to Hiccup’s hut opened just as he was about to leave, and he was met with Astrid. 

“Who’d you have with you?” Astrid asked instead of greeting him. She was trying to peer around him into the darkness of his hut.

Hiccup pushed her away as gently as possible and closed the door behind him. “We’ll discuss it in the clubhouse, okay? How are you? How’s the Edge doing?”

Astrid didn’t seem to like being deflected by questions like this, but she answered as she and Hiccup began walking towards the clubhouse.

“Okay. We all missed you though.”

Hiccup smiled a little hearing that, but only a little. He knew the yelling would eventually start. He’d lied to them for two whole weeks and had come back with their sworn enemy. Though he himself thought he was doing the right thing, he was going to be seriously chewed out for this. 

Hiccup was enveloped by multiple hugs when he entered the clubhouse.

“Hey, Hiccup! You’re right on time for dinner!” Snotlout exclaimed. 

Tuffnut sniffed.

“What? What is it?” Hiccup asked.

“Have you… bathed recently?” Tuffnut asked.

“Oh my gods, Tuff, you can’t just ask someone that,” Astrid said. 

“What? You can’t smell it?” Tuffnut asked. “It’s like he was in an explosion and then holed up somewhere for two weeks.”

Hiccup’s face went red. He hadn’t thought about that detail. Yes, his hair definitely looked unwashed, because it was. He hadn’t been able to bathe while looking after Viggo. And Tuffnut was right about the explosion part. He probably smelled like soot and sweat and dirt.

“That… is odd,” Fishlegs commented. “Hiccup, you didn’t take the time to bathe while on Berk?”

“Haha! Well, uh…” Hiccup scratched at the back of his neck, a nervous habit. “I wasn’t actually  _ on  _ Berk.”

His friends all looked at him, dumbfounded.

“Then where the Hel were you?!” Astrid cried. “We were receiving letters from you for two weeks that said you were on Berk. You’re saying you  _ lied  _ to us?”

“I had to. I… Look, it’s a long story.”

“Well, then tell it,” Ruffnut said angrily, crossing her arms. 

“Okay, well, um, you know that letter I supposedly got from my dad?”

“Yeah…?” The Riders said collectively.

“It… wasn’t actually from him.”

“Then who the fuck was it from?” Snotlout asked. They really didn’t seem to mind swearing and cursing at the moment. They were all angry, and their anger would be even worse once they figured out the truth.

“Viggo,” Hiccup answered meekly. 

Yelling started, words fighting over one another so that Hiccup couldn’t really hear much of anything coherent. 

“Guys, guys, let me explain!” He raised his hands defensively, and the Riders quieted. “Let me explain. No interruptions, please.”

They all just looked at him, waiting. So, Hiccup took a deep breath, and he began. He told them of how Viggo had been betrayed by Krogan and Johann because he no longer served a purpose, of his plan to get back the Dragon Eye and lenses, of their failed, almost fatal, mission.

Voices rose again.

“You should have told us!” Fishlegs cried.

“You should have left him for dead!” Astrid yelled. 

“You should have brought someone along!” Tuffnut shouted. 

“Guys, guys, I did what I thought was best, okay?” Hiccup felt stressed under all this pressure, but he’d take his stand. He had done the best he could in a strenuous situation. He’d made the right decisions. 

“So you thought it was a  _ good idea _ to help our sworn enemy?” Ruffnut accused. She left the group and strode right up to Hiccup. She poked him hard in the chest. “Look, you’ve done a lot of stupid things, H, but this is by far the stupidest.” 

Hiccup did  _ not  _ like his ideas and actions being called stupid.

“Where is he now?” Astrid asked.

“What?”

“Where’s Viggo now?”

“In… my bed.”

Yelling from everyone that Hiccup couldn’t pick words out of. Hiccup didn’t know how to calm them down this time. They were all angry, and anger in a group was worse than from a single individual. 

“Guys.”

More yelling.

Hiccup threw up his hands. “Guys!”

They all quieted, staring at him with different levels of rage on their faces. 

“I couldn’t just leave him there to die.” Hiccup tried to keep calm in his voice. No point in him yelling as well. “He saved me. I couldn’t just… I couldn’t just leave him.” His voice broke; he felt emotional now, very suddenly. He’d been trying to keep in any emotion since he’d found Viggo, not wanting to show anything in front of him, but these were his friends. He could show emotion to them. “He was going to die for me.”

That statement left the room in silence. Hiccup felt an ache in his throat, impending tears. He didn’t want to cry. Gods, he didn’t even know what he’d be crying about. The fact that Viggo loved him? The fact that they both knew and hadn’t talked about it? He couldn’t possibly tell his friends, that, could he?

But he’d kept enough secrets from them already. 

Hiccup took a deep breath. “I think… I think he loves me.” He didn’t just think it - he knew it was true - but saying it like this would make it easier on his friends. 

His words were met with utter silence and dumbfounded stares. 

“What… what makes you say that?” Astrid finally asked. 

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, now feeling awkward. “Just… some things that he did, really.” It hadn’t come out in words. No, it had come out in actions. Viggo had taken his hand and stared endearingly into his eyes before trying to sacrifice himself. Hiccup  _ knew _ . “He didn’t say it, but it’s there, you know?”

More silence. The Riders didn’t seem to know how to process this. Hiccup didn’t quite know how to process it either.  _ Viggo Grimborn loved him. _ He did! A man that Hiccup had thought was entirely without love. Maybe he had been until he’d met Hiccup. Hiccup couldn’t believe it had taken him, a man twenty years Viggo’s junior, to show him what love meant. 

“And… how do you feel?” Astrid again. 

Hiccup shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve kind of become friends now, since I’ve been tending to him. He had a change of heart, about dragons, about me, about all of it.”

The Riders looked skeptical.

“Are you sure he’s not just doing this as another trick?” Fishlegs asked. “He really loves tricks.”

“I know, I know, but this is real. I swear.” Hiccup hadn’t even considered Viggo’s love being a trick. It was because of the way he’d looked him in the eye, the way he’d held his hand so tenderly. It was real.

Astrid suddenly laughed. It was a harsh, sardonic sound. “Oh, this is just great.”

“What?” Hiccup wasn’t sure what she was getting at.

“Viggo has a change of heart, you rescue him, and now he’s in your hut because he’s too injured to leave. This is just too good.” Astrid’s amusement was far from real, just plain sarcastic. 

“Astrid, what else was I supposed to do?” Hiccup narrowed his eyes, not liking this reaction. 

“Leave him,” Astrid said coldly. “He’s done too much to us, and Berk, for any of us to forgive him.”

The other Riders nodded at that. “Yeah, Hiccup, he’s kind of done a lot of bad stuff,” Snotlout put in. “Killed people, almost tortured and killed  _ us _ , enslaved dragons, starved out Berk… Who knows what else he’s done?!” 

Hiccup sighed. “I know. I just want to give him a chance. Doesn’t everyone deserve a chance?”

The Riders all collectively shook their heads with some “no’s” thrown in.

“Okay, fine, fine. You guys don’t have to go near him, but I’m taking care of him. That’s final.”

Snotlout opened his mouth to object. Hiccup narrowed his eyes further. 

“That’s  _ final _ .” 

Snotlout shut his mouth, cleared his throat. 

“Um, how about we have dinner before it gets too cold?” Fishlegs asked. Hiccup just nodded. Usually, he would have smiled at his friend, but he wasn’t in a very good mood now. The six of them sat down to dinner, and didn’t talk throughout the whole of it. 

  
  


Viggo was roused from sleep when he heard the door to Hiccup’s hut open. He was hurting and exhausted from the flight, but hungry too, and he could smell food with Hiccup. Good. He couldn’t quite sit up just yet, so Hiccup had been spoon feeding him. It was humiliating as all Hel, but he’d rather have Hiccup do it than anyone else. 

Toothless lit a lantern for Hiccup when he came up, basking everything in a golden, yellow glow. Hiccup set the tray down on his desk, lit a few candles.

“How are you feeling?” Hiccup asked.

Viggo tried to laugh, but oh, how that hurt his injuries. He ended up making a choked sound, then stopping. 

“The flight was not the nicest thing to ever happen to me,” Viggo admitted.

“I’m sorry,” Hiccup said. “I had to. We were running out of things and-”

“I know we had to. It’s alright,” Viggo assured him. “Now, how did the Riders take the news of my arrival?”

Hiccup took the tray and sat in a chair he’d pulled up near the bed. He set the tray on his lap, took a spoonful of whatever was in the bowl, and held it out to Viggo. Viggo gratefully took it. 

“Not well,” Hiccup told him. “There was a lot of yelling. I hope they don’t hate me now.”

“They’re your friends. I’m sure they don’t.”

“Have you… ever had friends, Viggo?”

“Not really,” he answered truthfully. “No one was on the same intellectual level as me. Not like you.”

Was that a blush creeping into Hiccup’s cheeks? The tension in the room rose, and the temperature seemed to rise with it. 

“Hiccup, I-” No, he couldn’t say the words. Could he? 

“I know,” Hiccup said after some silence. “I know how you feel about me.”

“And… how do you feel about  _ me? _ ” Viggo questioned. 

Hiccup shrugged. “It’s complicated. You were my enemy until very recently. Now… I don’t know what we are. Friends, maybe?”

Friends. That made Viggo’s heart ache, but he could make do with that. He would have to. Hiccup was in love with the Hofferson girl, not him. He knew it wouldn’t be reciprocated, but it still hurt. Maybe dying would have been better than living like this, with his first ever love not feeling the same back. 

“Friends,” Viggo said. “I can do that.”

  
  


It took weeks for Viggo to get back up on his feet. In that time, Hiccup was the only one to take care of him, but he got tips from Fishlegs on how to deal with his wounds. Now, Viggo was sitting up, a feat he’d accomplished on his own, and Hiccup was taking the bandages off of him. There were four atrocious-looking scars on his back, but of course something like what he’d gone through would leave scarring. 

Hiccup gingerly touched one. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to feel Viggo’s skin against his own. They’d grown closer in those weeks, into something that wasn’t quite romantic, but something beyond friends. Hiccup knew all of Viggo’s secrets, and Viggo knew all of his. 

“Does it still hurt?” Hiccup asked. 

“No,” Viggo answered. He shot Hiccup a smile over his shoulder, and it was a genuine expression, and far from one of his cruel smirks that Hiccup had grown used to seeing during their war. “You did a good job with taking care of me.”

“Ah, well, I had to.” Hiccup still wasn’t used to Viggo’s flattery. 

Viggo turned to face Hiccup, sitting cross-legged on the bed. Their knees touched. “You didn’t,” he said. “You could have left me for dead.” He cupped Hiccup’s cheek with one hand, and something in him told him to pull back, but he didn’t. He… liked Viggo’s touch there. “But you didn’t. You… you cared about me.”

“Viggo…” Hiccup wasn’t sure what to say, but that was alright really, because his words were cut off by Viggo moving forward and placing a fervent kiss right on his lips. Hiccup made a surprised sound against his lips, but then melted into it. It was a good kiss. Viggo’s lips were nice and plump against his own; his beard scratched against his face. 

Hiccup very suddenly pulled away. He stood from the chair, turned his back, blushing furiously. “I can’t,” he said. “ _ We  _ can’t.”

“Why not?”

“You  _ know  _ why not,” Hiccup said, a little bitterly. “I’m engaged to Astrid.”

Viggo sighed. “Yes, I suppose that does come between us. My apologies, my dear Hiccup. I just had to do it once, had to know what it felt like.”

Hiccup looked over his shoulder at him. “And you won’t do it again?”

Viggo shook his head. “I will not.” He stood, stretched. “In fact, I plan on leaving.”

“Leaving?” Hiccup was shocked by this announcement.

“Yes. I promised I would be out of your life, and I’m going to follow through on that.”

“But- but-” Hiccup didn’t know what to say, didn’t know why he was protesting this. Before, he  _ had  _ wanted Viggo out of his life, but now… Now, he didn’t know  _ what  _ he wanted.

Viggo went over to Hiccup, took his cheek again. “It’s alright.”

Hiccup took the hand Viggo had on his face, gave it a squeeze. “It’s not.”

“So you’ve become fond of me?”

“Could I have really helped it?”

Viggo smiled. “I suppose not. I am rather charming.”

Hiccup laughed. It was a sad laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, you are.” Silence. He lowered his hand, still holding Viggo’s. He could be tender and close with his male friends, so why couldn’t he be with Viggo? “When do you intend to leave?”

“On the morrow.”

Hiccup bit his lower lip, nodded. “Will you do something for me?”

“Anything.”

“Play Maces and Talons with me?” Hiccup asked. “Just this last time. As friends.”

Viggo smiled and nodded, squeezed Hiccup’s hand. “As friends.”


End file.
